The Illicit Trade of Coltan
Key findings: - A black market for coltan — a strategically important mineral used in an array of electronic devices — has emerged in the Amazon jungles that cover the border area between Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. - In Venezuela and most of Colombia coltan mining is illegal, yet small-scale miners and buyers are plentiful. Venezuelan coltan is even hawked worldwide via the Internet. - Colombian authorities and human rights activists say illicit coltan mining is feeding smuggling networks run by armed paramilitaries and drug smugglers. Читать дальше...